Planning for the American Dream: The College-Savings Behavior of Asian and Latino Foreign-Born Parents in the United States

Abstract

Rapid growth in the population of children of immigrants has occurred during an era of soaring college costs in the United States. Despite well-established knowledge that immigrant parents hold high educational expectations for their children and that children of immigrants will make up a large share of the U.S. college-aged population, little is known about how immigrant families prepare financially for their children's postsecondary education. We use data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to examine the patterns and predictors of college savings behavior among Asian and Latino foreign-born parents of high school students in the United States. Relative to white U.S.-born parents, Asian immigrant parents have higher odds of saving and have more money saved for their 10th-grader's college education. In contrast, Latino immigrant parents are less likely than white U.S.-born parents to save for their children's college education. However, among parents who save, Latino immigrant parents do not differ from white U.S.-born parents in the amount saved. For both Asian and Latino immigrant parents, income is less predictive of saving than it is for white U.S.-born parents, and the odds of saving increase with U.S. experience. Findings improve understanding Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (

Paying for the Prestige: Differences in College Investment between Asian American and White Families

“…Much of the existing research, however, focuses on saving behavior before students have begun college. Studies have found variation by family race, with White and Asian American families saving more than Black and Hispanic families (Bandelj and Grigoryeva 2021; Charles, Roscigno, and Torres 2007; Dondero and Humphries 2016). We focus on Asian American and White families in this research, since the literature shows these groups are less likely than Black or Hispanic Americans to rely on loans and may have access to greater family savings.…”

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“…Census Bureau 2016). Studies have explored Asian American families’ saving behaviors for their children’s postsecondary education as one potential mechanism of Asian American students’ postsecondary success (Dondero and Humphries 2016; Ouyang, Hanna, and Kim 2019). This financial planning may influence Asian American students to enroll in college because they perceive they are able to afford it, and may enable their timely completion, as they may enroll in institutions with high graduation rates and/or feel they do not need to stop out or drop out for financial reasons (Elliott and Beverly 2011).…”

A HOPE for Study Abroad: Evidence From Tennessee on the Impact of Merit-Aid Policy Adoption on Study Abroad Participation

“…For example, in the United States, parents/guardians begin saving for their children’s postsecondary education early (Dondero & Humphries, 2016; Hillman, Gast, & George-Jackson, 2015; Sherraden, Johnson, Elliott, Porterfield, & Rainford, 2007), prior to the adoption of any broad-based merit-aid policies. In theory, the adoption of broad merit-aid policies diminishes the need for fiscal resources to cover tuition and fee expenses.…”